From Nature's Tea Leaf

Lotus Nut Green Tea leaves are fine and tender dried leaves that are noticeably striped with many white downy tips. Lotus has long been a symbol of vitality and purity in Buddhist culture. While in traditional Chinese medicine lotus is believed to be beneficial to the heart and helps to calm the nerves. This tea has a tenuous shape with a strong, bitter aroma that is a common feature of the lotus nut.

So good! I can’t believe I’m the first one to log this tea, because it’s seriously good.

I’ve only had lotus seeds once, in the paste that they use to fill steamed buns. A good friend of mine in California brought me some steamed buns while I was living there … and one batch of them were lotus seed paste buns, and they were so good. I have tried to find something like it again, but it hasn’t been easy … all the steamed buns I find are usually BBQ pork.

Not that BBQ pork is bad, but, I want more lotus seed buns!

Anyway… this tea definitely reminds me of the lotus seed paste I tasted way back then. It’s been a lot of years (let’s see … I’ve lived here in the Pacific Northwest for more than 10 years now … so it’s been at least eleven years since I’ve had those lotus seed buns!) It has a sweet, creamy, nutty flavor to it, as well as a hint of freshness and a touch of vegetative taste. And there is also a slight bitterness to the cup, nothing off-putting, but instead, kind of lively … it contrasts with the sweetness and creates a very pleasing taste.

I have been curious about lotus teas for a while. Mostly lotus flower/florals, but lotus nut is interesting too. I do love a nutty green tea. I knew I was using kind of a lot of leaf for this one, so I only steeped it one minute. The liquor is already a lovely light amber color and smells both vegetal and nutty. Not in a chestnutty way like some green teas, just… different. But definitely nutty.

Mmm, this is quite pleasant. It seems like a completely unflavored green in many senses, as it has the same type of leafy nuttiness that you get in some types of green tea. It’s not buttery like some of those, but it works well anyway. There is maybe also a hint of toastiness. Overally a tasty tea; I think it would be a good meal-time green as well.

Preparation

Loose
Appearance: grey green,
Aroma when Dry: sweet, nutty, earthy
After water is first poured: Lotus and Lima bean Manju
At end of first steep: warm manju and rice
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: hints of green
Staple? Possible
Preferred time of day: afternoon, evening
Taste:
At first?: notes of sticky rice, earthy lotus manju,
As it cools?: notes sweeten, get nuttier, earthier
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? yes, tart, earthy